A Reel Review: KILLING THEM SOFTLY

 

 

The last time Brad Pitt and writer/director Andrew Dominik got together, the result was the masterful THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD (2007); a beautifully-crafted opus which broke the mold on the stock old-west film with thoughtful focus on character ahead of gunshots and standard horse-chases. Their newest collaboration, KILLING THEM SOFTLY, also veers away from its hack-em-up mobster-flick roots by focusing on the backdrop more than the story and character.

Jackie (Brad Pitt) and his heavy-drinking pal Mickey (James Gandolfini) are cold hit-men hired by the mysterious Driver (Richard Jenkins) to whack two small-time crooks (played by Scoot McNairy and Ben Mendelsohn) that were dumb enough to rob a high-stakes card-game run by mobster Markie (Ray Liotta).

KILLING THEM SOFTLY has very little plot, if any; two guys out to whack two other guys. It throws in a bit of mystery by making it unclear who was actually behind the card-game robbery, but Andrew Dominik has other things to do in his mobster-flick. The film is set during the 2008 Presidential campaigns. Most of the scenes conveniently (and almost annoyingly) take place with a campaign speech playing on a TV or radio. The campaign speeches, mostly centered around the Nation’s economic crisis, serve as a clever narration; the content of each speech loosely mirrors the plot of the movie. It works as much as it misses; it’s there so much you can’t help but to say “I get the point” by the mid-way mark because it is so heavy-handed.

The characters in KILLING THEM SOFTLY don’t do much other than deliver long monologues about the state of their business and the country they live in. With so much talking going on, the film not only forgets about its own story, but it leaves its sub-text behind as well. Many scenes and characters serve zero purpose in the grand scheme of things; Gandolfini’s character is given a ton of screentime, contributes nothing to the plot and vanishes off-screen in a blink.

Despite the soupy narrative, Dominik has once again crafted a beautiful looking film. Partially shot in some of the still-abandoned areas of New Orleans, the film has a stark, desolate look which adds to Dominik’s ongoing social-commentary on the state of the country. Dominik’s camera takes us to some interesting, never-before-seen places, and there is a slow-motion assassination scene which has to be seen to be believed.

Dominik also pulls great performances out of his entire cast. Despite not having a whole lot to do but talk and listen, Brad Pitt’s hit-man character is a joy to watch, and his intro into the film is very memorable. James Gandolfini and Ray Liotta slip right back into their mobster-shoes so well they might as well have been playing the characters they first became famous for.

The movie wraps with a zinger of a line; a line so good it has to be considered to be one of the greatest closing-lines in film history. It is a strong social statement and wraps the film perfectly, and is almost enough to forgive and forget the fact that sitting through a lecture-hall on film just isn’t that much fun or interesting. KILLING THEM SOFTLY is definitely unique, but far from masterful.

BOTTOM LINE: Rent it